Laced shoe.



M, KROELL LAOED SHOE.

APPLIULTION mum mm. 2a, 1908.

923,860., Patented June 8, 1909.

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,gbly stitfen such tongue and thereby prevent it" hou UNITED STATESPATENT oFFIon.

nAazELL KROELL, or HAR'lWELL, OHIO.

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To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, lllnaznnn KROELL, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Hartwell, in the county-of Hamilton and Stateof Ohio, haveinvented certain .new and useful Im rovements in LacedShoes, of which the ollowing is a specification. I

This invention relates to shoe lacings and tongues used in the 1; pers'of -open-front shoes and'the object t ereof' is to provide the tongue ofan. open-front shoe with a means of support whereby it will not have atendency to work downward on the ankle of the wearer nor wrinkle duringthe wearing of the shoe and, also, to provide means whereby the o positeends of the lace or string can bedhly held or fastened in the upper partof the shoe-upper'without resorting to the ordinary practice ofunoightly knotting that becomes loose and untied much to the annoyanceand discomfort of the said wearer. 1

The invention consists in the provision of an open shoe-upper having thecustomary double course of eyelets, a tongue arran ed within the 0 onfront and having ,suita le openin ma e therein, from bottom to to thereoa lace or string held or anchore midlength in a number of said 0 eningsat the lower end of the tongue an with one end passed upwardly throughthe other openings. successively to the top of the tongue and leadingoutwardly from the up or edge of the Shoe and with the other on of suchstring duly threaded through said eyelets and leading-through-a loop'atthe top of the tongue and both said endsbeing passed through loops alongthe upper edge of the shoe with the metal-tipped ends passed inwardlyfor pocketing and anchormg out of sight and relez'ising rontact with anyobjects.

The invention further consists in providing the tongue with transversedouble stitches arranged in a \ertical series from top to bottom thereofand adapted to suitosswise wrinkling thereof, and, also, to at 3 1n thesupport of the tongue in a smooth 'ion bark of the open front of theshoeup e )tlfr features or the invention will be" fully hereinafterdescribed in detail and ticularly pointed out in the claims. in tha.art-outpouring sheet of drawings,

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Specification 0! Letters Patent.

Application tiled December 28, 1908. Serial No. 468,836.

SHOE

Patented June 8, 1909.

Figure 1. is a fragmentary perspective view showing an open-frontshoe-upper with my improved lacing and tongue applied thereto in closedposition, or as they appear in use,

but omittingtthe limb and foot of the wearer; Fig. 2, a erspective viewof the improved tongue an lacing, the latterbein shown in the manner ofuse contemplated y my invention herein; Fig. 3, :1 pers ective Viewshowing the blank or strip of eather comrising the tongue, such stripbeing in the ent-orer state it takes in the stitching of the transversestiffening-seams; and Fig. 4, a fragmentary perspective view of a partof the said leather-strip comprising the tongue string having thecustomary metal-tipped ends 7. V

8 represents a cluster of circular perform tions or openings made inthe. lower end of the tongue and adapted to accommodate the shoe-str1ngabout midlength, as best shown in Fig. .2, such string bein duly loopedthrou h two openings of said cluster andoth ends passed through theother then opening of the three of said cluster, one end, 6", being dulythreaded through the double course of eyelets 4 and the other end 6"bein passed upward through a vertical series 0 transverse slits 9,thence through a pair of transverse slits 10 made near the top of thetongue. The upper end 6" of the lacing passes outwardly from the upperone of the slits 10 and then inwardly through the lower one of saidslit-s 10, and then again through said 11 per slit 10 outwardly forengagement with t 1e last one 4 of the course of eyelets in the memberor flap 2 of the shoe-upper. Said end 6 of the lacing then passesthrough a vertical 100 or eye 11 at the upper end of the tongue, tlitical loops 12 in, the upper edge ofvflap or member 1 and thence forwardagain to and through an eye 13 into the inside of the shoe for pocketingor lodging snugly in place between the member 1 and the ankle of theence through a series of verwearer, tree to be duly withdrawn from;lmt'ktilflg-PlflCQ when it Is desired to remove the Slttjt' but safelyheld in place without danger of dislodgment in' the ordinary wear of theshoe.

ll and thence through a series of vertical loops 1:: at the u per edgeof the shoerupper member 2, and thence forward again to and through thevertical eye 13 into pocketingposition within the shoe, like unto theother end 6' of the laein I prefer to use a lacing or string in whichthe part 6, beginning midlength of the lacing, shall be rendered elasticby the inser-' tion of one or more strands of rubber and the otherportion (5 remaining inelastic or about in the same semi-stretehablestate of the ordinary shoe-lace. Midlength the shoelace composed of theelastic: and inelastic portions, tightly Wrap a thread l around the webso as to hold the end or ends of the internal rubber strands, suchrubber strands bein firmly held at the outer end of portion 6 o thelacing by means of the metal tip 7. The elastie portion 6* of the lacingimparts a yielding condition to the shoe-opening which is much desiredin the wearin 0 the shoe andthe inelastic portion 6" o the lacing isbest adapted to support the tongue within the shoe in an upright statealon r the inner fare of the shoe-opening free item wrinkling along theankle of the wearer. The looping of the portion 6" of the lacing throughthe loop IQ is done in a taut manner so that the tongue eannot slipdownward when in place, and the lower portion 8 of the inning is thepart thereof that is first passed throu h the lowermost eyelets 8", 8 ofthe double course, for anchoring the tongue in place without thenecessity of in said lower end of the tongue, as hereto ore customary inthe manufacture of shoes. The up er end of the tongue is preferablyextender in position beyond the up per edge of the shoe-opening, as bestseen In Fig. I, so that the vw'tical loop it can be readily reached inthreading the lacing in op osite directions therethrough.

n stiffening the tongue so as to retain it-in a snug and smoothcondition along the ankle of the wear and to prevent its wrinkling, Iprovide a series of transverse double The other end 6* of the v luringutter pas-sling through the double t-ourse ot' eyelets departs from theu per eyelet 4 into and through the vertical 00p 1 edges of the tongue.

stitches 15 at suitable intervals apart. such stiti'zhes being made inthe leather or insteriul of the tongue during process of memo feature,by doubling or folding ovt'r the leather. as best seen in Fig. l. andthen passlug the needle through the fold or bent portion of theleatlu-r, preferabh terminating a short distance away from thelongitudinal I It is to be understood that it is not necessary for thestitches to extend clear acros the tongue, and I secure thr best resultsby inserting in the told one or more stifl' horse hairs or bristles it,which are held therein by the stilt-hing, as best seen in Fig. 4 andtherelrv impart the desired stillness and elasticity to retain thetongue in a snug and smooth condition to conform to the shape of'theslum-u iper and to prevent wrinkles therein aud, also, to preserve theshape of the tongue when the shoe not in use on the foot.

I claim 1. As a new article of n'ianufart'u re. a shoetongue having. acentral. vertical series of horizontal, parallel double stitches madetherein at suitable intervals apart and each set of double stitchesbeing sewed into poeket form and provided with an internal core of anumber of horse-hairs for flexibly stiflen ing the tongue material.

As a new article of manufacture, a shoetongue having a number ofopenings made therein and :1 shoe-lace threaded through said openingswith one end adapted to traverse a course of eyelets in a shoe-upper towhich the tongue is attached and the other end adapted to be anchored inthe it per end of the tongue and thence passed a ong the upper edge ofthe shoe-upper for insertion within the shoe and said firstuuunedportion of the hiring adapted to extend from the upper portion of'theshoe-upper into and within the shoe. i

3. The combination of a shoe-tonguehaving a number of openings or loopsmade therein and a vertical series of transverse double tittihes alsomade therein and a shoelat-e inserted and ahehored in said openings andhaving one end thereof made elastit' and the other end inelastic.

M A'RZ ELL K R0 EL] 1. Witnesses JOHN ELJAS Jones, Noiuu Kslsnn.

